1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with the testing of phased arrays of transducers, and in particular, though not exclusively, ultrasonic transducers.
2. Description of Related Art
Phased arrays of transducers are frequently used in underwater applications. The usual method of testing such arrays involves immersing the array into a large volume of water, typically large water tanks or open water test facilities such as reservoirs. The test facility must also provide a mechanical means of scanning the far field response of the test subject. Testing is both time-consuming, unwieldy and expensive.
One method which has been proposed for overcoming the problems of testing transducers as just set out utilizes acoustic loading rods which are dimensioned to simulate the acoustic impedance that a transducer would experience in actual operation.
This approach also has problems when the faces of the transducers to be tested are coated in such a way that there can be no direct contact between the active face of the transducer and the loading rod.